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I recently went overboard with the platinum. It doesn’t look bad, just not what I was shooting for, when within 24 hours two men I know quite well looked at me and said “Wow, your hair is white.” I chose the wrong toner, and though it took out the gold, it lifted the blond even higher. Luckily I am so OCD, my hair is not too fried. The last time I got it trimmed, the stylist said “I can’t believe your hair is in this good of condition when you retouch the bleach yourself.”

I’ve been able to stay glam as opposed to “girl next door” trashy in two ways:

1. Lots of research. I am NOT a professional cosmetologist, so God bless all the bloggers and product reviewers out there.

2. MOISTURE. I condition every single day, use leave in conditioner every single day, and only shampoo 1-2 times per week.

So despite the decent condition of my hair, it looked pretty pathetic the other morning after dying it. I frantically turned to the “magical closet” to see what I had in the hair product bin. (Yes most people have a drawer, I have a closet.) Voila! Ketastase Elixer from my March Birchbox. First off, it smelled amazing. I felt like an Egyptian princess. Why Egyptian? I don’t know – it gave me visions of laying around all day like Cleopatra. Anyway, it worked fantastically and brought life back to my mistakenly overprocessed locks.

As a side note, I also received a Twistband Hair Tie in the box. I was skeptical about this, as it just looked like a folded piece of ribbon. I was WRONG. It had lots of stretch in it, and held great. PLUS, unlike ouchless ponytail holders, which I like for the most part, it did NOT leave any funky lines in my hair. LOVE!

Back to moisture. Since I was in awe of the Kerastase, I thought I’d introduce to another moisture superstar I am having a not-so-secret love affair with. Time Freeze Firming Day Cream is the first product I’ve tried from Lumene but I guarantee you it will not be the last. It feels so thick and cool on your skin, and uplifting without being restricting. Sometimes these kinds of products can actually make your skin feel tighter and drier – not this one – it’s an awesome mix of moisture and lift.

Finally in the quest to repair my hair, there was one product I was not so impressed with. Biolage Intensive Strengthening Mask was not nearly intensive enough for dry, fried hair. It may work out well for normal to oily tressed girls, but I unfortunally can’t speak to that.

Don’t forget, tomorrow is the last day for my giveaway! (see related stories)

I am only a quarter Irish, but St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. I had a great holiday weekend, in a small town known as the Irish capital of Nebraska. After a weekend of bad habits (unhealthy food – vegetarians don’t fare well in small towns, falling asleep in makeup, too much alcohol, not enough water, no formal workouts, etc.) I looked in the mirror and saw more imperfections emerging than I’d seen in months. So, what a great time to turn to a couple old faves and try out some some new skin products.

First, I washed my face with Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Acne Facewash. I have been pretty satisfied with this face wash. I love anything with scrubbing beads in it and I love anything that keeps acne at bay, so this is a good combo of both.

Next, and I was so looking forward to this, I did the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask. Love this mask. My pores feel so tight and clean after using it. The only suggestion I would make is be sure to apply it thickly in all spots because if you have any spots that are too thin they will be more difficult to peel. Some people prefer wash off masks but I am a superfan of this peel off version. I recently got a sample of the black moisturizer – I’m excited to try and you’ll hear about it when I do 🙂

On to the new products . . .not my first date with Philosophy, so I came in a little biased. So far I had not tried on a product that I didn’t like. This one didn’t disappoint either. I purchased the Dark Spot Correcting Kit because I find the older get, the slower my skin bounces back from blackheads, whiteheads, sunburns, etc. You pour the liquid over the pads, which is nice if they dry out it’s your own fault for not sealing the cap tight enough 🙂 The kit cost about $80 for 30 days worth. They suggest doing it every night, but I’ll probably go with once or twice a week to save money. You move the pad over your face and heads. It’s odd because it felt moisturizing and stimulating at the same time. It brought a fresh rosiness to my face, so I knew it was stimulating circulation. But the oil felt soft and soothing. Then you add the brightening cream which, and I don’t know why this was shocking to me, comes out tan. Obviously, you can’t evaluate the full result after one use, but I will continue using and give an update in a few weeks.

Finally, as a result of my CVS addiction, I got a new moisturizer, Nuance AM/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream. Nuance is Salma Hayek’s line, carried exclusively by CVS (as far as I know.) I had tried a conditioner in this line, and it was fine, but didn’t really wow me. The moisturizer I did really like though. It has a nice citrusy scent, and it was heavy enough for dry skin, but light enough for daytime. I could tell it had antiaging ingredients because I could feel a little bit of a lift after using it. It cost about $20, which at first I thought might not be worth it. But then I rethought how little it took it to cover my whole face, and therefore how long the jar will last.

I just ordered my first Julep Maven Box! You all know I love nail polish, but what I love more is a good HOT DEAL. I got 2 colors and a lotion for $.01. Other bloggers are RAVING about these polishes-I am BOHO GLAM! $.01 is well worth it…AND FREE SHIPPING! Seriously, I checked my statement before I posted. Actually, $.01!

As many know, I am the furthest thing from a morning person. I have the luxury of working out at night, but I used to work out over lunch because that was the only time many of my friends with kids could squeeze it in. “How can you possibly have time to do that?” – I was asked that question again and again. NO the answer is not take a two hour lunch so I can redo my hair and makeup after working out and showering.

The answer is . . . the perfect arsenal of products.

First, and in my opinion MOST important – dry shampoo. Truly it’s a Godsend. I do not like the powder ones, but the spray ones are fantastic. They counteract the oil, and bam! Fresh hair. There are some good pricy ones out there (Ojon, Tigi Rockaholic Dirty Secret) which are GREAT for omg I want to preserve my awesome Saturday night hair on Sunday. For the gym bag, I love the Tresseme waterless shampoos. They run about $3 each, just make sure you get the correct one based on whether you have curly/wavy or straight hair. The curly one is extra moisturizing so it can make straight hair look greasy.

Next, and this is important, pack TWO kinds of wipes, one for your face and one for your body. Some people are not sensitive at all, but if I use body wipes on my face, I break out. For my body, baby wipes work great, any kind. The best place to find these is in the travel aisle so you are not carting a giant tub of wipes. For my face, Garnier Nutritioniste Towelettes have come in super handy. Even when I shower at home after the gym, I often run errands in between and it helps to at least get the gunk off my face in the meantime.

These are the key tools. After you’ve used them to clean your entire body, face, and hair, proceed with deodorant, makeup, etc. Two things I strongly I suggest are moisturizer and body spray. The skin dries out from the salt in your sweat, so moisturizer is always good. Body spray just puts a little extra pep in your step as you get back to the grind of work.